Do you want to take your four-legged friend to Switzerland with you when you move? Pets are very popular with the Swiss, and many people have a cat or a dog - the nation’s two favourite animals - that share their owners' lives.
The number of cats in Switzerland1.
The number of dogs in Switzerland1.
Swiss households allocate on average 0.3% of their monthly budget, or CHF 31, to their pets1. This ranges from CHF 1,000 per year for a cat to CHF 2,000 per year for a dog!
Importing your pet
Would you like your pet to be part of your new adventure in Switzerland?
If your pet fulfils the following conditions, he or she may enter the country duty-free:
- has a microchip or tattoo as a means of identification
- has a rabies vaccine certificate
- has a European pet passport, or that of another country recognised by the European Union
Pets imported by you duty-free may not be sold once they have arrived in Switzerland.
If you arrive in Switzerland from a third country outside the European Union, you should report your pet to the customs official on duty where his or her import documents and conditions are checked. In addition, if the animal’s home country presents a risk of rabies, your pet will be subjected to more stringent checks (blood tests, obtaining an import permit, etc.).
See the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs Office online tool to help you determine the steps required to import your animal, depending on your home country.
Keeping pets
Some animals cannot be kept alone, according to the Swiss Animal Protection Act: this is the case for gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, canaries, budgerigars, parrots and many fish including goldfish.
Please see the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs Office website for more information on the keeping of pets in Switzerland.
When you rent
For tenants in Switzerland, your landlord may not allow you to have a pet.
To install a cat flap in your rental property, it is necessary to ask your landlord's permission, which usually requires the door or window to be repaired when you leave. It is therefore advisable to keep the fixture that was installed before the cat flap was installed.
(In French only.) This article contains links to third-party websites. They are provided solely as information and their purpose is not to promote subscription to the products offered by Crédit Agricole, which has no commercial links with the owners of these sites. This information should not be considered as advice – financial, fiscal, or otherwise.